The last time the Saints and Vikings hooked
up
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DeMario Davis Jersey , folks in Minnesota were toasting Stefon Diggs with
steins of Surly, and people in Louisiana were crying in their gumbo.They get
together again in prime time, a nice treat to finish off a Sunday with several
intriguing matchups.New Orleans sure hopes there's no second Minneapolis
Miracle."This is not a revenge game," Drew Brees insists, referring to the
playoff loss in January. "It's a different season. These are new teams, even
though there's a lot of similar personnel. It's a new season, new team, new
mindset. So listen, it's a very good opponent that we are playing on 'Sunday
Night Football' at their place. It is a tough environment (and) a tough place to
play. We understand we're going to need our best game, our best execution to
win."The Saints (5-1) have been doing a lot of winning since they were upset by
Tampa Bay in their opener. Last week they won against a playoff-caliber team at
Baltimore. Now they get the Vikings (4-2-1), who have been spotty but lead the
NFC North and are 14-3 at home vs. New Orleans.The Vikings might feel equipped
enough to get into a shootout with Brees, but when you listen to their coach,
Mike Zimmer, who has a defensive background, he knows his side will be tested.
It's uncertain if the Vikings will have end Everson Griffen available as he
returns from dealing with mental issues that sidelined him for almost six
weeks."I think as the game goes on, Brees gets a much better feel of what the
defense is trying to do throughout the course of the ballgame with him," Zimmer
says."A guy like him who has seen everything �he sees everything anyway �but
he's seen so many different looks that he can kind of decipher things quickly on
the move. I think that's part of it, and he's got good players, too. Michael
Thomas is good, (Alvin) Kamara is good, (Mike) Ingram is good. They have a lot
of good players."The weekend began Thursday night with Houston's 42-23 home
victory over the Miami Dolphins. Deshaun Watson matched his career high with
five touchdown passes to lead the Texans to their fifth straight victory after
opening 0-3. Miami has lost two straight to drop to 4-4.Off are Dallas (3-4),
Tennessee
(3-4)
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Drew Brees Jersey , Atlanta (3-4) and the Los Angeles Chargers (5-2).Green
Bay (3-2-1) at Los Angeles Rams (7-0)Talk about shootouts, this has the makings
of one.Green Bay comes off a bye, which means Aaron Rodgers is healthier and
could have more targets to connect with. Still, the Packers rank fourth in
passing and A-Rod has 332.8 yards passing per game and 12 touchdowns, one
pick.But the Packers opened as the biggest underdog of his career. That's
because the NFL's only unbeaten team has been unstoppable with the ball and
pretty stingy without it.Oh yeah, the Packers don't cover particularly well in
the secondary.Running back Todd Gurley leads the NFL with 88 points, 686 yards
rushing, 144 carries and 956 yards from scrimmage. DE Aaron Donald co-leads with
eight sacks, comes off four sacks, six tackles for loss against San
Francisco.Denver (3-4) at Kansas City (6-1)The Chiefs have won six in a row in
this series and, like the Rams, have a dynamic, versatile offense. But they also
rank last in yardage allowed on defense, so Denver might not be totally
overmatched.Chiefs coach Andy Reid won his 200th game last week vs. Cincinnati.
Reid would tie Dan Reeves for eighth in NFL history with another victory. To get
it, he will rely on second-year QB Patrick Mahomes, who leads the NFL in TD
passes (22) and 25-yard-plus completions (26). He has a franchise-record six
consecutive 300-yard passing games.Baltimore (4-3) at Carolina (4-2)Carolina
exhibited its resilience and staying power by rallying from 17 points down in
the fourth quarter at Philadelphia last week. It was the largest comeback in
franchise history, and now the Panthers are home, where they've won eight
straight.The challenge is huge against Baltimore, which fell at home by one
point to New Orleans when Justin Tucker �only the league's career kicking
leader �missed an extra point for the first time. That final-seconds miscue
shouldn't camouflage that the Ravens lead the league in defense. Baltimore has
allowed 101 points, lowest total through seven games since coach John Harbaugh
took over in 2008. The Ravens have allowed the fewest yards (280.6 per game) and
fewest points (14.4).Seattle (3-3) at Detroit (3-3)Two teams that started ugly
and have begun to look a lot more attractive.Seattle has gone physical with the
run game and on defense and, despite being in retooling mode, seems ready to
challenge for a wild-card playoff berth. Pete Carroll's bunch protects the
ball
http://www.neworleanssaintsteamonline.com/vonn-bell-jersey ,
too, with only six giveaways.The Seahawks are playing for the first time since
the death of owner Paul Allen.Detroit seems to have discovered a running game:
Rookie Kerryon Johnson ran for a career-high 158 yards at Miami last week. But
Seattle's D is stingy on the ground.Philadelphia (3-4) vs. Jacksonville (3-4) at
LondonTwo teams beginning to look ugly, particularly the Jaguars, who had
locker-room discord after last week's loss to Houston that included QB Blake
Bortles getting benched. Coach Doug Marrone is sticking with Bortles for now and
there was a players-only meeting Monday in hopes of clearing the air. This is
the sixth straight year Jacksonville is playing a home game in London.Following
their collapse against Carolina, the Eagles probably welcomed getting far out of
town. It's their first trip to London for a game.The Eagles lead the NFL in time
of possession, averaging more than 33 minutes. But with Jacksonville's secondary
undermanned, Carson Wentz could look to the air. He has thrown 173 consecutive
passes without an interception.New England (5-2) at Buffalo (2-5), Monday
nightESPN must have liked the idea of the Bills, coming off their first playoff
berth since before ESPN was created �well, not quite �against Tom Brady and
the Patriots.Instead, this could be a classic rout. Consider these numbers:—The
Patriots are 31-4 in the past 35 meetings.—Brady holds the NFL career wins
record by a quarterback against one opponent with a 28-3 record.—New England is
7-0 in night games against the Bills.—The Patriots have scored 21 or more points
in the first half in each of the past four games this season to match a
franchise-best streak, and the Bills have allowed 24 or more points in the first
half three times.Cleveland (2-4-1) at Pittsburgh (3-2-1)Another lopsided
rivalry, though this game has some cachet because the Browns tend to play the
Steelers tough before losing. They tied to open the season.The Steelers come off
a bye. They have won the past 14 meetings at Heinz Field; Cleveland's last
victory in Pittsburgh came in October 2003. Plus, the Browns have lost 24
straight road games, two shy of the NFL record owned by the Lions (2007-10). And
the Browns are 6-32-1 overall against Pittsburgh since 1999, when Cleveland
re-entered the NFL.The Browns lead the NFL with 20 takeaways, but they have
scored only 31 points off those turnovers.Pittsburgh's Ben Roethlisberger is
22-2-1 all-time against the Browns and unbeaten at home. He's an Ohio
native.Washington (4-2) at New York Giants (1-6)The New York tabloids already
are projecting which college quarterback the Giants will draft after they finish
near the bottom of the standings for a second successive season. Maybe if they
had anyone who could pass protect, the conversation wouldn't be so tilted
against Eli Manning, who barely has time to look downfield as he sets up to
throw.In comes surprise NFC East leader Washington, which ranks fifth in defense
and has one of the top candidates for Comeback Player of the Year in Adrian
Peterson. The veteran has 95-plus yards rushing in four of six games.Tampa Bay
(3-3) at Cincinnati (4-3)It's natural to wonder about the Bengals' psyche after
Cincinnati again blew a lead at home to Pittsburgh, then got hammered in Kansas
City. The Bengals took the second-most-lopsided loss in coach Marvin Lewis' 16
seasons with that 45-10 debacle at the Chiefs. They had only one drive longer
than 50 yards and a season-low 239 yards gained.Tampa stopped a three-game skid
as dramatically as possible. Chandler Catanzaro made a 59-yard FG �the longest
in OT since 1974 �for a 26-23 win over the Browns.The Buccaneers lead the NFL
in total yards per game (449.5) and yards passing per game (364).New York Jets
(3-4) at Chicago (3-3)A few weeks ago, the Bears sure were representing the city
of big shoulders
well
http://www.neworleanssaintsteamonline.com/tyeler-davison-jer sey ,
reviving talk of the Monsters of the Midway on defense, looking like a
burgeoning power on offense. Then came a pair of losses and the Bears plummeted
from the top of the NFC North to the bottom.Chicago led the league with 18 sacks
through the first four games. The Bears have one since. Star Khalil Mack has no
sacks in the past two games while being limited by an ankle injury, after
getting five in the first four outings.Jets first-rounder Sam Darnold is
learning how difficult a rookie QB's life can be. He's coming off his worst game
as a pro with three interceptions. The No. 3 overall draft pick leads the league
with 10 interceptions to go with one of the NFL's worst completion rates (56.1
percent) and passer ratings (74.3).Indianapolis (2-5) at Oakland (1-5)The
teardown of the roster continues in Oakland, where Jon Gruden dealt his top
receiver, Amari Cooper, to Dallas.Indianapolis QB Andrew Luck seeks his fifth
straight game with at least three TD passes. Luck has 15 TDs in his past four
games. Oakland is last in the league with seven sacks.Kicker Adam Vinatieri
needs five points to break Morten Andersen's NFL career scoring record (2,544
points) but is plagued by an injured groin.San Francisco (1-6) at Arizona
(1-6)The Cardinals have won eight of the past nine in this series, including
three weeks ago.San Francisco is minus-15 in turnover margin, worst in the
NFL.Arizona fired offensive coordinator Mike McCoy this week, replacing him with
QBs coach Byron Leftwich. Star WR Larry Fitzgerald needs 135 yards to pass
Terrell Owens into second place in NFL career yards receiving. While Saints
defensive end Cameron Jordan stressed that New Orleans doesn't fear going on the
road in the playoffs, he readily acknowledged the advantages of staying in the
Superdome.New Orleans (12-2) can lock up the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs with
a victory over visiting Pittsburgh (8-5-1) on Sunday."That would be huge," said
Jordan, referencing what he calls "dome-field advantage."The Saints did fine on
the road this season, going 7-1. They won't finish any better in the Superdome,
where they are 5-1 with two regular-season home games left. But New Orleans'
offense generally has been better at home, where Drew Brees' pre-snap
instructions �and center Max Unger's line calls �are easier for teammates to
hear. The Saints have averaged about 38 points at home, but their road scoring
average dipped about nine points below that after three straight road games in
which they were held to 28 or less in each game and to 12 or fewer points
twice."It's been almost a month since we've been at the dome, so it'll be nice
to be back in there," Brees said. "Obviously we've got a lot going for us right
now �a lot at stake."In reality, the Saints don't have that much riding on
Sunday's game �certainly not as much as the Steelers, who could still win the
AFC North but haven't clinched a playoff berth yet. New Orleans already has won
a second straight NFC South crown and will finish as a top seed even if it
splits its next two games. But from the standpoint of offensive production,
playoff history and promoting optimal
health
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Patrick Robinson Jersey , the Saints know they'd be best served by beating
Pittsburgh.In franchise history, the Saints are 1-7 in playoff games away from
the Superdome. Since coach Sean Payton and Brees arrived in 2006, the Saints
have not lost any of their five home playoff games. The one season they won the
Super Bowl, they were the NFC's No. 1 seed.In fact, no Super Bowl participant
has won a single road playoff game since the 2012 Baltimore Ravens won at Denver
and New England en route to their title-winning tilt with San Francisco in New
Orleans.Meanwhile, key Saints players could get as much as two weeks rest �the
regular-season finale and the playoff bye �if New Orleans wins this week."Rest
is much needed to get our bodies right," Saints cornerback Marshon Lattimore
said. "Take a week, or two (off) if we clinch it this week. Hopefully rest the
starters for the last game."The Steelers can't worry about rest �not even after
improving their postseason outlook with a victory over New England last week."We
just want to get into the playoffs," quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said. "It
doesn't matter how you get in, we just want to get in. Obviously, the first and
second seed you would like, but I don't think we can get that now. So, let's
just find a way to get in."Some other prominent story lines surround the
Steelers' visit to the Superdome:BOWING UPDespite a significant slowdown
offensively during their past three games, the Saints went 2-1 during that
stretch because of strong defensive play.New Orleans, which struggled
defensively early this season, has not allowed any of its past six opponents to
score more than 17 points and has held two teams to less than 10."The offense
was really getting us through the games at the beginning of the season and the
roles flipped," Lattimore said. "Nobody pointed fingers. We just got the job
done. That's the biggest thing, just playing as a team."JAYSAM'S JOURNEYSteelers
rookie running back Jaylen Samuels will start his third straight game in place
of injured Pro Bowler James Conner, who is hobbled by a sprained left
ankle.Samuels, a fifth-round pick, lit up New England for 172 total yards. Not
bad for a player who was asked to work out as a tight end at the NFL combine.
The going could get considerably tougher against New Orleans, which leads the
league in rush defense (79.1 yards per game).RESPECTBrees is the third
high-profile quarterback the Steelers have faced in four
weeks
http://www.neworleanssaintsteamonline.com/thomas-morstead-je rsey ,
joining New England's Tom Brady and Philip Rivers of the Los Angeles Chargers.
Roethlisberger, who only knows Brees casually from run-ins at the Pro Bowl,
isn't sure Brees has gotten enough credit for his record-setting career."He's
incredibly athletic ... and a tireless worker," Roethlisberger said. "Not really
known for a huge arm, but can pretty much make any throw. I have a lot of
respect for that guy."JORDAN'S JUDGMENTJordan, the Saints' sacks leader, sounded
incredulous when a media member referred to Roethlisberger as a "future
Hall-of-Fame quarterback" during an interview in New Orleans' locker
room.Grimacing and turning his head sharply, Jordan said: "It that true? Really?
In this era? You'd put him at like a top three of this era? Top five of this
era?"Jordan listed Brees, New England's Tom Brady, Green Bay's Aaron Rodgers,
the Los Angeles Chargers' Philip Rivers, the retired Peyton Manning and the
Giants' Eli Manning as QB's he'd place above Roethlisberger.This season,
Roethlisberger's 4,462 yards rank second behind only Kansas City's Patrick
Mahomes in the NFL.Jordan, a first-time All Pro last season, has 12 sacks to go
with 17 tackles for losses, a forced fumble and fumble recovery.AP Sports Writer
Will Graves in Pittsburgh
contributed.
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